Route 66: Kansas
Both of the Kansas Restaurants the Louies sold to would have required a short detour away from Route 66. An analysis of the distribution of restaurants he sold to overall suggest that a diversion from Route 66 was the most efficient way to reach both of these businesses.
Beloit, Kansas: Motel Waconda/ 24/66 Restaurant
Very little appears about this business in the archival record, apart from assorted matchbooks. The space is now home to the Backyard Lodge, which advertises on its website as having been built in 1955. The lack of mention of the hotel or restaurant in newspapers suggests that like the Sundown in Holbrook, this business catered to tourists and visitors, either traveling cross country or visiting Lake Waconda.
Post card showing four views of the Waconda Motel complex. All of the buildings show are in a blonde brick and single story. The Image in the upper right shows the 24/66 Cafe Sign which is on a tall post and bright red with white letters nd a white star projecting on the top. The upper ecenter is a close up of the motel sign. “Motel” is in white lit letters on a red background, but the word Waconda is written in cursive below it on a brick pillar sign base. The upper right is a Phillips gas station located next to the motel. The has station features red pumps and neon red letters spelling out Phillips. The bottom of postcard shows the motel. It is a low building comprised of a series of compartmental rooms and adjoining parking in a half square arrangement. There are flowers against the building and lawn across from the parking lot. The buildings have a mid-century modern/Deco feel to their design.
Bespoke Kim’s steak house porcelain ashtray with a gold border. In red, in the center of the ashtray, is a picture in red of a hot steaming steak that sure looks like a bacon-wrapped filet mignon. The steak is surrounded by a green circular decorative border. Under the steak, contained in the green circle, also in green, are the word’s Steak House 1837 South Ninth Salina, Kansas. Above the steak, in cursive lettering, is “KIm’s”.
Salina, Kansas: Kim’s Steak House
Kim O. Low opened Kim’s Steak House in 1953. Low had been born in Canton, and served in the 153rd Engineers Battalion during World War II. At the time of his death, in 1983, he was described as having been a resident of Salina for over 40 years. The restaurant, located in a strip mall known as “Kraft Manor”, provided a mainly American cuisine menu during its early days, gradually adding Chinese fare over time. The restaurant was redecorated twice to great fanfare, first in 1958, when newspaper advertisements described the space as being modernized with new lights and furnishings. Carnations, cigars and lollipops were offered to women, men and children visiting the newly opened restaurant. In 1964 when the restaurant, by then being described as serving Chinese food and Steaks, inexplicably added a “Persian room” complete with a paper mache figure riding a flying carpet, an arch and stone flooring accented with a red carpet. Whatever Low was doing, it worked. The restaurant hosted class reunions, Elk and other local organization meetings. It’s often humorous advertisements focused on affordability and quality, and promoted holiday meals, including Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The restaurant had a bowling team in the 1950s, and like other restaurants in towns with small Chinese American populations, was constantly advertising for wait staff, cooks and dishwashers. In 1960, one of the restaurant’s laborers drew negative attention when it was discovered a newly hired dishwasher was a fugitive from Michigan, wanted for killing his wife. He turned himself in and the restaurant seemed to suffer no negative consequences from the association. Low retired in 1976, and there is no evidence that the restaurant continued without him.
